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djevinrude
Reviews
Les saisons (2015)
Absolutely Stunning.
This is basically just a bunch of animals freaking out in the forest. And it's one of the most mesmerizing, fascinating, beautiful things you'll ever see.
Then humans come and mess it all up. But you already knew this.
But the way it's told is just gorgeous. Even the most ardent nature-hating right-winger wouldn't be able to argue with the arc of wildlife's struggle to survive in the wake of man as it's told here.
The footage in this film is breathtaking. You'll twist your brain trying to figure out how they got some of it. Mind-blowing. And gorgeous. Simply incredible.
Watership Down (2018)
I so badly want to give this a 10...
...but they changed too much. Dandelion as a mere tertiary (and silent!?) character, with Bluebell taking his storyteller's place? Strawberry as a female? NO PIPKIN?? Kehaar as Scottish, rather than Mediterranean? Bigwig not being fascinated and obsessed with Kehaar? Clover as a primary character, taking both Bigwig and Hyzenthlay's roles in key parts of the story?
The list goes on and, more excruciatingly, the story is far too truncated. This would have been so wonderful if it weren't compressed into four episodes, and was instead allowed to breathe with a full eight to ten. If Dandelion's (not Bluebell's!) tales of El-ahrairah were to be shown in the beautiful visual style of the show. I just want to tell the writers and producers: Just stick with the story! It's perfect as it is!
Now, let me point out that I'm hypercritical on this because Watership Down is one of the most beloved stories of my life. I've read it around fifteen times, from the age of probably ten up until my last reading a few months ago. So not only am I very protective of it when it's adapted, but it's also very fresh in my mind.
And I think this adaptation might be hard to follow for anyone not familiar with the book. The rabbit words are not explained. It's hard to distinguish one rabbit from the other. The story may feel disconnected to those who don't know it. So therefore, it's clearly made for avid fans of Watership Down - and, thus, should have been made with more care given towards keeping characters and events true to the original. I did like some of the modifications, however - having Efrafa set in a dark and forbidding factory ruin, for instance. That's a nice touch.
But despite all of this, I'm still giving it a nine because it's just so beautifully done. The dark, serious feel of it - that's what the book feels like, not some cute and cuddly children's tale. The cast and voice acting are superb. The sound design and the score are excellent, and spot-on. The animation and the art - at first I thought it was a little cheesy looking, but the hyper-realness of it grew on me, and I love it. The whole thing feels almost like Lord of the Rings, and that's how I describe this book to others - LOTR with rabbits.
And in the end it was just thrilling to watch. I loved every minute of it, when I let go of my critical view of it. It really FELT like reading the book. It is a pure delight, and I'm so grateful they made this.
Oh, and my cat LOVED it. She usually doesn't pay much mind to the TV.
So, all in all, I'm delighted that this was created, and created so well. It's not perfect, and I really wanted it to be, but what a hugely pleasant surprise to see this pop up on Netflix, and to find it to be this beautifully wrought.
Mowgli (2018)
The Best Jungle Book Yet
Purely and simply, this is my favorite adaptation of the classic Kipling tale that's been made to date. Beautiful, gripping, intense, and darker and more serious than the others. Incredible animals, animation, scenery, visual effects, audio effects, soundscapes, and of course, voices.
And though I'm here comparing it to the others, I think I enjoyed it so much because I didn't think about what they did differently, or if the story is true to form, while watching it. I just took it for what it was, immersed my mind into the story, let it flow, and loved every moment of it. It was only afterwards, noticing how I felt in the wake of the film, that I thought, with a warm feeling and a big smile, "Wow. That's my favorite Jungle Book yet."
Backcountry (2014)
I was going to give it three stars
The first hour of this film is almost painful to watch - and not in a good way. All four of the characters (that's right, four characters total) are highly unlikable - the worst type of uncaring, jealous boyfriend; your typical 30-something suburban white girlfriend; a creepy, perv-type of intrusive woodland dude; and even the park ranger is shady.
Backcountry focuses on this couple, and what this couple does is have run-of-the-mill couple issues - arguments, jockeyings for power, occasional glimpses of affection... YAWN. Who wants to watch that for an hour?
But then, something HAPPENS. S#!+ hits the fan. The gnarlist of events goes down, and is presented in an ultra-realistic, shocking way. Ten out of ten for the film from there forward. It's REALLY GOOD.
I almost bumped it up to six stars for that redemption. But I can't quite forgive the creators for making me endure that first hour. Five is good. Five is appropriate.
As Above, So Below (2014)
You people are tripping
...because this is the best handheld camera type of scary movie I've seen since Cloverfield. One of the best creepy films I've seen in some time.